India vs Australia 2017: Probable Indian ODI squad

After comprehensively thrashing Sri Lanka 9-0 across all formats, India will be looking to carry that form into a busy home season that will see them play 23 internationals from September 17 before they travel to South Africa in the final week of December. With a settled ODI squad, India won't be looking to make too many changes but given the amount of cricket that they will play, they might look to rest a few players.

Two players they certainly won't be resting are captain Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper MS Dhoni, who both enjoyed a sublime tour of Sri Lanka. The openers along with the bulk of the middle-order are likely to remain the same, which might make it tough for the likes of Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina to make a comeback.

With the announcement of the squad not too far away, here are the probable players that will make it to the 15-man squad to face Australia.

Openers

Shikhar Dhawan

Despite missing the final two matches of India's tour of Sri Lanka to be with his ailing, Shikhar Dhawan has done more than enough to retain his place in the Indian ODI side. The 31-year-old continued his good form from the Champions Trophy and the series against West Indies to this tour, where he scored an unbeaten century and 49 in the first two matches.

Although his form tailed off after that, he will be raring to go against Australia and cement his spot for the busy home season ahead.

Rohit Sharma

Going into the ODI series against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma didn't have an impressive ODI record in the country. After a sublime Champions Trophy, he was rested for the limited-overs series against West Indies but came strongly to score three consecutive fifty-plus scores against Sri Lanka, including back-to-back hundreds. He will look to continue that against Australia.

Ajinkya Rahane

Despite finishing as the Man of the Series in the five-match ODI series against West Indies, in which he scored four consecutive fifty-plus scores, Ajinkya Rahane played just one ODI in the tour of Sri Lanka. That he had to wait for Dhawan to be unavailable just shows how strong and settled the Indian opening pair are. With KL Rahul's poor form, expect the 29-year-old to find his spot in the ODI squad for the Australia series.

Middle Order

Kohli and Dhoni will look to continue their impressive form against Australia

Virat Kohli

For the first time since he took over as ODI and T20I captain, Virat Kohli will go up against Australia, a side against whom he has never captained before in ODIs. Coming into the series after back-to-back ODI centuries against Sri Lanka, Kohli will look to add to overtake Ricky Ponting and claim sole custody of the second spot in the list of most ODI tons.

MS Dhoni

After a Champions Trophy in which he didn't do a great deal and a mixed bag against West Indies, there were questions raised about MS Dhoni's place in the side. But the 36-year-old provided the perfect response during the tour of Sri Lanka, where he wasn't dismissed even once and showcased just how important experience is, in ODIs.

An average in excess of 90 in ODIs in this calendar year shows that his stories about his powers being on the wane have been greatly exaggerated. He will be looking to capitalize on his good form by adding to his runs tally as he inches closer to 10,000 runs.

Manish Pandey

With KL Rahul struggling in the middle-order against Sri Lanka, Manish Pandey's performances towards the end of the tour looks to have done enough to ensure that he retains his place in the side. Capable of playing anywhere in the middle-order, Pandey provides flexibility in the batting order and the fact that he is one of the finest fielders only strengthens his case.

Dinesh Karthik

Despite scoring an unbeaten fifty in his last ODI and 48 in his last T20I outing, Dinesh Karthik was unceremoniously dropped for the Sri Lanka series. Considering KL Rahul's poor form, the 32-year-old could well earn a comeback to the side for the ODI series against Australia.

All-rounders

Pandya remains India's No.1 limited-overs all-rounder currently

Hardik Pandya

Ever since he made his international debut last year, Hardik Pandya has established himself as an integral part of the Indian side. His ability to score quickly with the bat, take crucial wickets with the ball and his exceptional fielding skills make him the ideal all-rounder. The fact that he can bowl fast, hit longer than most is an added advantage and that is why he will continue to take his spot against Australia.

Kedar Jadhav

Before the final ODI against Sri Lanka, Kedar Jadhav had a lackluster series. While he had picked up wickets with the ball, his primary skill was starting to let him down. But a fifty in the final ODI is sure to have earned him goodwill for at least another series, especially considering the balance that he provides to the Indian side.

Spinners

Chahal was consistently amongst the wickets against Sri Lanka

Yuzvendra Chahal

The 27-year-old leg spinner from Haryana showed the benefits of having a leg spinner in the side throughout the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka. He finished with eight wickets in the tour and was continually amongst the wickets. While he was hit at times, he showed incredible resilience and came back strongly, the hallmarks of a good leg spinner. That is likely to be enough to help him retain his place for the Australia series.

Axar Patel

In the absence of the experienced duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, it was Axar Patel who stepped as the leader of the spin attack. The 23-year-old all-rounder spun a web around Sri Lanka's batsmen and finished with six wickets from the four ODIs that he played.

Economical, yet effective when it comes to taking wickets, Axar is the ideal ODI spinner. That he is a more than handy batsman in the lower middle-order might just swing the spot in his favor ahead of Ravindra Jadeja.

Kuldeep Yadav

Considering how Australia struggled against Kuldeep Yadav in the final Test of the series earlier in the year, the chinaman bowler is an automatic pick in the ODI side. That is likely to mean that Ravichandran Ashwin will see out his contract at Worcestershire with the 22-year-old retaining his spot in the squad.

Seamers

Bumrah broke a world record and finished with his career-best ODI figures in the SL series

Jasprit Bumrah

With Josh Hazlewood (No.1) and Mitchell Starc (No.3) not in the Australian ODI squad, Jasprit Bumrah who is in fourth spot in the ICC ODI bowlers rankings will be looking to continue his rise to the top. After a sensational ODI series against Sri Lanka, where he broke the world record for most wickets by a pacer in a five-match ODI series, Bumrah will be looking to continue that form against Australia and also breach the 50 wicket mark in ODIs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

With his incredible variety and consistency, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has established himself as an integral part of the Indian ODI bowling line-up. Although the selectors will be looking at rotating the fast bowlers considering the busy schedule, after a series in which he picked up his career-best ODI figures and with India within touching distance of the No.1 ranking in ODIs, they will look to pick their best squad and that certainly includes the right-arm pacer.

Mohammed Shami

One major replacement for the Australia series is likely to happen in the pace bowling department. Shardul Thakur was given an opportunity against Sri Lanka but against Australia, India are likely to call upon the services of the experienced Mohammed Shami. The pacer is chasing Mitchell Starc's record of being the fastest to 100 ODI wickets and he will look to break that against Australia.